Southwest Airlines Co.'s low fares include no charges for luggage, and an open seating plan.

Some fliers, such as Gregory Johnson, a Milwaukee retiree, aren't interested. Johnson remains a fan of Midwest Airlines, and said he recently booked a round-trip flight to Las Vegas for $218, plus a $30 charge for his suitcase to fly both ways. Johnson said he wants an assigned seat.

Southwest loyalists include Toni Konz, who grew up in Milwaukee and now lives in Louisville, Ky., where she's a newspaper reporter. Konz says Southwest offers low fares and good service.

Also, Southwest allows passengers to select a boarding zone, one of three areas in the jet, 24 hours before the flight, Konz said. Passengers board by zone, and Konz likes to find a seat without having one assigned in advance.

An airline customer satisfaction survey, released Tuesday by the University of Michigan, rated Southwest with the highest score, 81 on a zero-to-100 scale.

After Southwest, Continental Airlines scored 68; Delta Air Lines, 64; American Airlines, 60; US Airways, 59; Northwest Airlines, 57; and United Airlines, 56. Midwest Airlines and AirTran Airways, two of the largest carriers in Milwaukee, were not included.

Market Share at Mitchell

Southwest will join these commercial airlines serving passengers at Mitchell International Airport:

Midwest Airlines/Midwest Connect, 35.1%

Delta, 22.6%

AirTran Airways, 19.8%

US Airways Express, 5.2%

Continental Express, 4.3%

United Express, 3.9%

American, 3.5%

Frontier Airlines, 3%

Air Canada, 0.3%

Great Lakes Airlines, 0.1%

Source: Mitchell International Airport

Southwest Airlines is coming to Milwaukee's Mitchell International Airport on Nov. 1, bringing the potential to drive ticket prices lower and broaden passengers' choices as it offers new competition for locally based Midwest Airlines.

Dallas-based Southwest will offer eight to 10 Milwaukee flights per day, said chief executive officer Gary Kelly. He would not discuss possible destinations, but industry observers said Southwest would likely focus on leisure trips to such places as Florida, Las Vegas and Phoenix, as well as the company's hubs in Kansas City and elsewhere.

Along with tapping into the Milwaukee area, service from Mitchell will help Southwest better serve the northern Chicago area, Kelly said. The airline's Chicago service is at Midway Airport, on the city's south side.

"My hope is we'll be able to grow Milwaukee into a very substantial operation for us," Kelly said.

He said the Milwaukee ground operation initially will have around 35 to 45 employees, including transferred employees and local hires.

Air traffic could increase

Industry consultant Scott Hamilton said the move "will bring some fare advantages to Milwaukee, and it may well boost airport traffic" by drawing northern Illinois passengers who would otherwise fly from O'Hare International Airport.

Hamilton, of Leeham Co. in Issaquah, Wash., said those additional passengers could raise Mitchell's profile among northern Illinois residents, which would benefit all carriers that fly from Mitchell.

Southwest, the nation's largest low-fare carrier, often pushes competitors' ticket prices down when it enters a market. Industry consultant Michael Boyd, of Boyd Group Inc. in Colorado, said the impact may be somewhat muted in Milwaukee because AirTran Airways has already forced price reductions by increasing its Milwaukee operations over the past year.

Hamilton agreed.

"Southwest will affect fares, but I'm not so sure the airline is to be feared as it once was," Hamilton said.

He cited Frontier Airlines Corp., which has "held its own very nicely against Southwest's incursion" in Denver. Frontier offers better service in Denver and has a strong local following there, Hamilton said.

Southwest will likely offer introductory fares in Milwaukee of around $100 to $200 for a round trip, Hamilton said.

AirTran, which on Thursday is celebrating new gate openings at Mitchell, is now the No. 3 carrier there, with a 19.8% market share in March, the latest month for which share data was available. Midwest Airlines, along with its Midwest Connect operation, was the largest carrier, with a 35.1% share, according to airport data. Delta Air Lines Inc., which is integrating Northwest Airlines into its system, held a 22.6% share.

Oak Creek-based Midwest Airlines' strong customer service, competitive fares and focus on business destinations will help it compete with Southwest, said Midwest spokesman Michael Brophy.

"In short, we don't believe we are necessarily the target of their plans," Brophy said in a statement. "In fact, where we compete against one another in Kansas City, for example, we tend to complement each other's service. Our service is more focused on the business traveler; theirs is more oriented toward leisure travel."

Is Midwest vulnerable?

But Hamilton and Boyd said Midwest is vulnerable.

Midwest last year cut service by 40%, with most of the reductions focused on Florida and other leisure destinations. The carrier flies most of its passengers on two dozen Midwest Connect regional jets operated under contract by SkyWest Inc. and Republic Airways Holdings Inc. Midwest Airlines operates just nine of its own Boeing 717 jets, which could end up being transferred to Mexicana Group, a Mexican airline.

"There's not much left there," Boyd said.

Kelly told reporters that Southwest is expanding to Milwaukee in part because of Midwest's service cuts.

"We just thought this was a great time to launch service there," Kelly said during a teleconference.

Neither AirTran nor Delta has much to fear from Southwest, Hamilton and Boyd said.

Delta, which became the world's largest airline by buying Northwest last fall, has a very strong global network and a strong frequent flier program to help it compete, Hamilton said. Delta holds a 47% non-management stake in Midwest, and in March, the two airlines announced a frequent-flier reciprocity program.

AirTran, like Southwest, built its business by offering low fares. But AirTran's assigned seating gives it a competitive advantage over Southwest, which doesn't provide assigned seats, Hamilton and Boyd said.

AirTran competes directly with Southwest in Orlando, Fla.; Baltimore; and Chicago's Midway Airport, and has done well in all three cities, said Kevin Healy, AirTran senior vice president of planning and marketing. He said AirTran's low cost structure, assigned seats and amenities such as new in-flight WiFi service give it advantages over Southwest.

"I genuinely believe this will accelerate bringing more passengers" to Mitchell from the Chicago area, Healy said.

Delta spokeswoman Susan Elliott said the airline welcomed the competition. She also said Delta's fares from Milwaukee would remain competitive.

In Milwaukee, Southwest's plans drew praise from Supervisor Michael Mayo, chairman of the County Board's Committee on Transportation, Public Works and Transit, and County Executive Scott Walker.

"More jobs and more flights: This is great news for people in Milwaukee County and throughout the region," Walker said in a statement.